Michigan Vamp

My Old License Plate

Eccentric Night Owl

Quote from Blood Read

"An ambiguously coded figure, a source of both erotic anxiety and corrupt desire, the literary vampire is one of the most powerful archetypes bequeathed to us from the imagination of the nineteenth century."~ page 2 introduction to Blood Read: The Vampire as Metaphor in Contemporary Culture

Intellectual Vampire Quote

"If the vampire is an other, he or she was always a figure in whom one could find one's self...the despicable as well as the defiant, the shameful as well as the unashamed, the loathing of oddness as well as pride in it."~ Richard Dyer

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Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Hi
everyone! Thanks so much to Roxanne for having me on her blog today. She asked
that I write something a little witchy-related and since my newest book is all
about witches, I’m thrilled to do so!

I
love magic. Most of my favorite books are fantasies that involve magic in some
way and I adore witches (I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve seen every
episode of Charmed). I love the idea
of witchcraft, that there are people out there who can whip up a potion to help
others or save the day (since we of course know that magic used for personal
gain is always, always a no-no!)

I also like to combine realistic
circumstances with magic – sort of a balancing act to keep readers in the story
despite being able to suspend their disbelief. We can read about Hogwarts all
day long, but it was the way in which Diagon Alley was just on the other side
of real-world London that caught our attention, that you could get to your
train through a brick wall that convinces us to look for Platform 9¾. Much of
the excitement in Charmed episodes
was from the Halliwell sisters avoiding getting caught by humans since they had
to operate in everyday San Franciso. Even while we know it’s fiction, we love
the idea of getting caught up in it – with a realistic approach that twists magic
in our everyday lives, we can imagine ourselves getting wrapped up in the world
we’re reading.

In
my newest book Witch Hearts, a serial
killer hunts powerful witches for their magic. Witches in my world are
powerful, but not in a flashy Hollywood way. The best part about it is that my
readers helped me. I asked on Twitter what they would expect from a world of
magic and they were surprisingly honest about keeping the magic realistic, so
that they could keep reading without thinking it was too much or ridiculous.
After taking their opinions into account, I built my world upon this idea:

“Witch
magic was powerful, but not nearly what the movies made it out to be. Humans
could explain away most of their subtle magic. A witch’s magic was more natural
with potions and rituals, no wands required. Each witch’s strength was
different.”

Ruby,
our protagonist, becomes one of the killer’s main targets due to her special
abilities. She actually has the capacity to use mind control, though she likes
to call them “mental suggestions” to avoid freaking anyone out.

In
one scene, Ruby is at a crowded bar with her friend Cooper. While Ruby is not
one to abuse her power, sometimes she can get away with it – in this instance,
a way to get the bartender’s attention for a drink. Here’s how she does it:

“She
focused her gaze on the drunk guy who’d caught the bartender and let a wave of
energy roll off her towards him. She narrowed her eyes, mentally suggested the
man get a cab. A second later, the man paused mid-conversation, blinked as
though waking up from a nap. He cut off the bartender, shaking his head, and
walked out the door without another word. Ruby could see him through the window
as he hailed the first banana yellow taxi down the block.

Then she turned her eyes on the
bartender, who’d taken the opportunity to grab a sip of water. As soon as he
felt Ruby’s eyes on him, he dropped what he was doing and looked around the
area until he found her. Like a moth to a flame, he headed straight over,
ignoring all the others who tried to flag him down for a drink.”

So while Ruby and others are
certainly terrific witches with firepower behind them, I wanted to do it in a
way that relates back to the reader as a normal human. Ruby’s gift is rare,
but not as powerful as some might think. Most with her gift can only give
suggestions in a thought or give people headaches. And most witches in my world
perform self-protection spells to avoid getting caught in magical crosshairs,
so it’s not even like Ruby can go around controlling everyone in her path.

In doing
things this way, I hope it’s easier for readers to get caught up in the
excitement and emotions of the story. They can relate to the characters, but
also see themselves in this normal city. Don’t we all like the idea of magic
hiding right underneath our noses?

About the Author:

Liz Long is lucky enough to have a dream career in magazine publishing as
an editor and writer, yet still have time to create adventures on the side. If
you catch her staring off into space or talking to herself, don’t worry – it’s
just her imagination at work.

Liz graduated from Longwood University with a BA in English, though her
professors might be disappointed to hear she reads more fantasy fiction than
literary novels. She also loves action and thriller genres. This book probably
won’t change your life, but she hopes it steals you away from reality for a
while.

Her newest release, WitchHearts, will be for sale on Amazon on
April 30th. Her first book, Gifted,
a Donovan Circus Novel, is also available for paperback and Kindle on Amazon.